Any remedies for a 6-month old with a cough that keeps him up at night? It sounds like his throat or chest is in pain and he wakes up crying. Any advice?

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Slather the soles of his feet with Vicks Vapo-rub and put socks on him (or footie pjs). Use the Baby version if you think the regular is too strong. I swear by this! I kid you not -- it works! My younger son has seasonal allergies (doesn't everyone these days?), and no antihistamine seems to work. But this does, especially at night. Works on adult coughs, too!

I read that putiing the baby in a hot steamy bathroom for a few minutes and then wraping them in a blankent with only their face exposed and take them outside in the night air will help open them up....not sure if it works...

Martha, we use Melaleuca Oil, it penetrates and helps loosen the congestion and is natural. Also the laundry products you are using may cause him to have asthma symptoms and the need to cough to breathe clearly. You can contact me if you are looking for natural products for laundry too!

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My son is just about 9months old. We have had a similar problem since he was two months of age. Our Peditrician put him on a breathing machine (nebulizor) with some medication- Albuteral. This relaxes and opens the broccis, within a week of him being on this the cough improved and after two weeks is gone. They also explained children younger than a 1 of age who get chronic coughs like this may need to continue to use the medication ( I had to start it again a few weeks ago- but he's already off it) until they grow out of it about 3-4 years of age. This is my third child, never had to deal with this before. Also, we prop him up at night- all the time now, which has helped and I use a warm air vaporizor, not cold. The warm mist helps him better than the cool air. The dr's only suggest the "cool" air so kids don't burn themselves on the units. During the day, I move the vaporizor out of reach. Good luck.

I have two sons who struggled with night time coughs quite a bit when they were infants. The most important thing I think is to know why. If it has been more than 3 days, call you doctor. It could be congestion, infection causing swelling, or even the start of what could become asthma in the future. My oldest had constant drainage for weeks at a time for his first 2 years. What helped him is a cool mist vaporizer and pillows UNDER his crib matress to prop him up a bit so he wasn't laying completely flat. Just make sure the crib sides are all the way up and the matress is on the lowest setting to be safe. Also, lots of fluids to help thin mucus. Water or diluted juice are best. Milk or any dairy will thicken and add to mucus develpment. Obviously at 6 months they need their milk/ formula so in between add as much fluids as they will drink. . My youngest was prone to croupe, then was diagnosed with "asthmatic lungs" as he was 2 and the doc. said they can't truely diagnose asthma until they are 3 and over. If there is swelling (this might sound crazy but it saved many ER visits for us) take him into the bathroom and turn on the shower all hot for lots of steam for 20 mins. Then bundle him/her up and take them outside in the cool air for 10-15 mins. We did this even in the winter and after we did he was able to sleep through the rest of the night. Hope this helps. Good luck! :-)

A vaporizer will make breathing easier and soothe the cough ---> sleeping is easier. There are several new units that you just plug into the wall like a room air-freshener thing -- no hot water or steam. Find them and refills in the cough & cold section of your store.

Have you had your child checked for reflux? Both of mine had it. When they lay down flat on their backs, food backs up into their esophagus and throat, causing them to cough and/ or have painful indegestion. My kids were severe enough to go on meds...but you can wait and hour after feeds to put them down...prop up one end of the crib mattress with a pillow...or even have them sleep in their car seat for a night. If any of this improves the situation, I would tell a doctor to check for reflux.

Hi Martha. My son is turning 2 this week and have battled with him since he was 6 weeks old. Every 3 weeks at the doctor and was the same thing everytime which went strait to his chest. i found a wonderful herbal spray called Breathe Eeze. you can unfortunitely only find it in herbal shops but works wonders. also try using a humidifier with tea tree or eucalyptus oil which helped for my sisters two kids. All the best Chantal

Hi Martha, I had two babies with coughing issues whenever they were teething...have you tried a humidifier or oil burner with a mixture of eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender oils...even if just the lavender oil...I know this even assists me when I have a cough caused by asthma...it is always advisable to have such things as allergy or asthme checked in little ones. All the best... Kath

hi my son had a cough for nearly 3months it was horrible and it kept him up most of the night after constent doctor appointments I ended up getting angry at the doctor asking why he couldnt give him cough medison they said its ok just to go to the chemist and get one that suits the type of cough and the dosage on the bottle just half it or quarter it depending on wieght of the baby. i did that along with a steamer near his cot and it cleared up within a week. I hope that helps.